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Out of Work, Spider-Man Gets Advice From Bloomberg

A team-up is often called for when superheroes face problems too big for them to handle on their own. In a new comic book, Peter Parker, the alter ego of Spider-Man, gets a little help from Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg to deal with one of his toughest foes: unemployment.

In “You’re Hired!,” an eight-page comic produced by Marvel Entertainment, Peter Parker is on the subway, reading the want ads, when he runs into the mayor, who offers him advice on his plight. The mayor tells Peter about Workforce1, a free service that provides training, placement services and career counseling. “Last year alone we helped over 25,000 New Yorkers find work,” he says.

The comic was included in Wednesday’s editions of The Daily News, one of the city’s partners on the project. “You’re Hired,” written by Warren Simons and illustrated by Todd Nauck, can also be downloaded for free on the Marvel Comics App and as a PDF. Two additional one-page stories will be available on Marvel’s Web site as well as the city’s.

Mayor Bloomberg appeared with Spider-Man at Midtown Comics Downtown on Fulton Street on Wednesday afternoon to promote the comic, the latest instance in a long tradition of politicians appearing in comics.

Mayor Bloomberg rides the subway all the time?
He rides the subway when he wants to get re elected, he means.
Why doesn’t Christine Quinn ride the subway also?
A poster on a different site said that he saw her giving her father a ride to ” the sample store” in a fully manned police motorcade recently.
Maybe all elected officials should ride the subway more often.
They can swipe the metro card for their fathers, too!

I am troubled by several things in the comic here. The first panel, with the bloody or ketchup-covered hand and tie: what’s with that? Then the mayor’s tie is untied, then simply gone. Also the mayor doesn’t look anything like he does in real life. And lastly, in the bottom left corner, I’m sure that’s Thelma from Scooby Doo, a surreal juxtaposition indeed.

Aside from all that, it’s nice to be trying to help people find work, sorely needed it is. But it would be nicer to create jobs I think.

Dan;
The red hand was covered in ketchup from being allowed to eat a full course meal on the subway.
The spot on the tie isn’t related, being a printed map of the city that His Honor rules.
As for the tie being unknotted, then disapearing entirely is all public relations oriented to show that Mayor Mike is forgoing his usual sartorial splendor in order to prove to this Peter that he’s also just one of the guys.
Look for him to start showing up at soirees with a red, white and blue semi clad Wonder Woman when he runs for President of The United States.
I would have said Superman, and Captain America but, I believe they are both presently gainfully employed!

On the other hand;
Maybe Peter should try using a pencil.
And who are those tough looking thugs standing right behind Bloomberg; his chairmen for hospitality?
In the meantime, I’ll continue using my computer as I’m writng a short story about bureaucrats in public housing getting killed.
I’ve got so much material now; the bodies are really piling up!

Thanks Andy for clearing that up, but this only brings up a further disturbing anomaly. I’ve been a Spider Man fan for years and years, through comics, TV, and movies, and I know for certain that Peter Parker does NOT have a lucky pen! Furthermore, practically nobody does, because pens do not carry luck well, and run out of ink and get replaced. But mainly, Parker is a photographer, NOT a writer, so would have a lucky lens cap if anything.

So this, and the mayor’s pandering and patronizing disappearing tie trick, and the fact that he looks like Charlton Heston but nothing like Mike, all profoundly disturbs me.

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